James McWilliams is "a historian and writer who's books include Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong, How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly and A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America. My writing on food, agriculture, and animals has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s, The Washington Post, Slate, Forbes, Travel and Leisure, The Los Angeles Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Texas Observer."

On March 10 West Virginia's legislature passed a bill authorizing the consumption of raw milk. Republicans supported the measure on the basis of “farm-food freedom” and “consumer choice.” Democrats, soberly noting that unpasteurized milk can contain high levels of deadly bacteria, opposed it on the grounds that “it's unwise and unsafe,”
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In her book Defending Beef, Nicolette Hahn Niman absolves the act of eating meat from moral inquiry on the grounds that humans have always eaten animals. She explains that a “food web” in which animals and plants routinely consume each other (yes, plants eat animals) places all life in “an endless cycle of regeneration.” As [...]
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Livestock have been severely depleting public rangelands for decades. They do so by trampling vegetation, damaging soil, spreading invasive weeds, polluting water, increasing the likelihood of destructive fires, depriving native wildlife of forage and shelter and even contributing to global warming—all of which has been noted in study after study. Global
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I’ll be speaking this Friday in Boulder, Colorado and this Saturday in Denver. Details here and here. Please attend if you can. I’ll be discussing my book The Modern Savage: Our Unthinking Decision to Eat Animals.
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Corey Lee Wrenn is an Adjunct Professor of Liberal Arts and a graduate instructor and PhD student of Sociology. Her research focuses include social movement theory and nonhuman animal rights activism. She regularly blogs on animal rights issues and interviews activists.

For women like myself with an active and public presence on the internet, we are fully aware that we "set ourselves up" for abuse by simply being present and by having an educated opinion. Women are expected to be silent and invisible. For those who dare to disobey these gender norms, retribution is swift. Women on the internet
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How often do you check the 990 IRS form for your favorite non-profit before you donate? I think many readers would be shocked to learn how often non-profit claimsmaking seriously mismatches its actual financial situation. Free From Harm claims it reached 6 million web users in 2014 with a budget of only $45,000. This information
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Trigger Warning: Discussions of ethnic violence in Ireland Do we really want to veganize an ethnic slur? As St. Patrick's Day rolls around, I see the usual sharing of veganized Irish cuisine on social media sites. As with many Western countries, traditional Irish foods tend to be heavily based on Nonhuman Animal products. Usually
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Before I begin this article, I want to start out by saying that I am happy for the handful of elephants who will never again step foot in a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. But for the remaining elephants who will continue to be exploited in the circus's "conservation" facility, the camels that are being added to the show to take
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Free From Harm is a great resource for anyone curious about or already committed to animal rights. They write on lesser known news items, humane education, animal rights, and bring attention to the myths of "humane meat.

The movement to treat farm animals better is based on the idea that it is wrong to subject them to unnecessary harm; yet using and killing animals for their flesh and secretions when we have no need to eat them constitutes the ultimate act of unnecessary harm. Continue reading →
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As a psychotherapist, I am interested in understanding: Could there be a connection between self-esteem and choosing to live in a way that values all life? I turned to the work of Nathaniel Branden, an expert on self-esteem who believes that self-esteem is an on-going consequence of choices we make. Continue reading →
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Before the recent damning investigative report on the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in the New York Times, few outside the beef, pork, and lamb industries had heard of the organization. Thanks to the front page expose by Michael Moss, however, that's no longer the case. Continue reading →
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Last month, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill that will generally prohibit the tattooing and piercing of one's companion animals, through an amendment to New York's Agriculture & Markets Law. Continue reading →
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Gary Francione discusses and explores various aspects of the idea that we ought to abolish, and not merely regulate, animal exploitation. His blog promotes ethical veganism and creative, non-violent vegan education as the primary forms of activism to move toward the abolition of animal use.

For some reason that eludes me, some animal advocates believe that because it took them while to go vegan, the position of the animal rights movement should be that individual “journeys” are just fine. But that is absurd. Imagine someone saying, “It took me a while to stop being a racist so I think that […]
The post
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According to the animal welfare corporations, the decision to remove elephants from the Ringling Circus in three years represents a victory of monumental proportions. In fact, I received this email (my email program thought it was a “scam”!) from Paul Shapiro of HSUS, who, quoting no less a figure than Nelson Mandela, declared it to […]
The
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A purported objection to veganism I’ve heard about 12 million times: “But veganism is elitist.” What complete nonsense. Elitism involves promoting a perceived superiority of some sort. It involves the idea of according less moral value to the “inferior.” As 2 seconds of thinking make clear, veganism is not elitist in
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I had the very great pleasure to meet and share a (vegan) meal with Chris Hedges and his partner, actor Eunice Wong. Hedges is, with Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, one of the leading progressive writers and thinkers of our time. Hedges wrote a
The post Chris Hedges: “All Forms of Life Are Sacred” appeared first on Animal Rights:
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"Gentle World's core purpose is to help build a more peaceful society, by educating the public about the reasons for being vegan, the benefits of vegan living, and how to go about making such a transition.
Toward that end, Gentle World has served as a clearing house of information for the past 30 years, helping children, teens and adults embrace a lifestyle that incorporates their values."

When Light and I became vegan in February of 1970, there was one reason and one reason only. It wasn’t because of its health benefits, which were unknown at the time, as was its positive effect on the environment. If factory farms existed, we hadn’t heard of them. Animal rights was not yet an issue, […]
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photos by Nadine Loraine … Life really gets fun when we convert a patch of grass into a thriving ecosystem. My vegan corner of the world is about 30 by 35 feet; a garden to nurture all the senses; to feed both body and soul. Barefoot, I stroll through paths in this place where peace […]
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We often presume, without much thought, that we deserve the circumstances of our lives. But let's consider this presumption. We didn't choose to be born. We didn't choose our parents, race, sex, mental capacity, era in history, or our species. All of these are matters of pure luck, and yet largely define our lifelong experience […]
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As we ring out the old, tumultuous year that was 2014, it is tempting to bemoan the current state of the world, and the potential disasters we face at the hands of the powers that seem to be. But the promise of change that comes with ringing in the new demands that we put those thoughts aside, and focus instead on whatever reasons we can find to inspire
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"The Thinking Vegan focuses on ethical veganism as a social justice movement, as opposed to a dietary plan, and covers issues related to the use of animals for food, clothing, entertainment, scientific “research,” labor and pets. We feature articles, reviews, ideas, interviews with thinkers and doers in the vegan/animal rights community, guest posts, and a thinking vegan’s take on newsworthy events. Regular features include The Thinking Vegan Consortium, where vegans engaged in different forms of activism answer the same question to show a diversity of perspectives, and The Thinking Vegan Pop Quiz, where we ask our Facebook community a question and post a selection of responses."

Over yonder on our resource page, we said, “If you lived on Vegan Street, you'd want to live next door to Marla and John.” Marla Rose and John Beske are a powerhouse couple in animal rights. Marla is an author The post Street Smarts: Vegan Street’s Marla Rose and John Beske appeared first on The Thinking Vegan.
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Most people are aware that when we're not keeping up the blog, we're working in our PR agency that primarily serves animal rights nonprofits/campaigns, documentary films, and vegan foods. Imagine our enthusiasm when the organizers of the Animal Film Festival The post Animal Rights, Films, and Food: Going for the Trifecta with the
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Aside from literally writing the book on yoga and animal rights (Yoga and Vegetarianism), building the Jivamukti school worldwide, and running a popular vegan café in New York City, Sharon has just released Simple Recipes for Joy: More Than 200 Delicious Vegan Recipes, a beautiful book of foods from the almost-eponymous Jivamuktea, and her own home
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People raved about the special effects in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which meant no actual apes were exploited, and maybe-veganish director Darren Arnofsky was outspoken about why he used almost no live animals in filming Noah. Praise The post Not Your Entertainment: Ethical Veganism and Performing Animals appeared first on The Thinking
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College Education Fail?
Hot on the heels of her article from November called "How to be a vegan without being annoying", Castleton State College's The Spartan's own staff writer Jorah McKinley...
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I Love Vegan Food Bloggers, Yes I Do!
I love (love, love, love!) vegan food bloggers. I appreciate and respect folks who have the time, energy, creativity, knowledge and skill to concoct all kinds...
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I was flipping through my Facebook newsfeed a few days ago and noticed that my friend Denise had posted a couple of emails to a small vegan group to which we both belong. They concerned Vegan Treats....
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I was talking to a new local vegetarian friend and we were discussing restaurants we'd visited in other cities. I mentioned that I'd love to see a vegan restaurant open up here, in our shared city.
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via Prof. Gary Francione’s Facebook page update: This morning (from the U.K.): A wonderful book. One of the reviews mentioned that rather than to persuade the reader of your position, you get the reader to see that they already believe carries the implication that they should be vegan. Brilliant! It is clearly written. I loved […]
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I am a professor of U.S. History at the University of Waterloo, father, companion, writer, film & TV fanatic, vegan (ex-omnivore) and a supporter of animal and human rights and nonviolence. I live with two kids, two cats and a bearded dragon

A healthy vegan baby boy. Yes, they do exist. Maybe you've heard about the Florida mother, Sarah Anne Markham, who was arrested earlier this week for child neglect. Her baby was admitted to a hospital suffering from dehydration and she refused to allow the baby to be given medicine because she claimed "it contained ingredients that
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Here is a fascinating story from CBS New York on animals and emotions. It's a brief story (2 minutes and 43 seconds) about animal behaviour and emotions using some very moving examples of animals forming bonds with other animals and human beings (my favourite story is of Mr. G. and Jellybean - you'll love it, I promise!).
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I was a huge Casey Kasem fan in the 1970s and 1980s, back in the heyday of the radio show he hosted, American Top 40. Little did I know at the time that Casey was very political. In fact, he was a lifelong supporter of a variety of progressive causes, including the anti-nuclear movement, environmentalism, social justice
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Mike Archer's article for The Conversation, 'Ordering the vegetarian meal? There's more animal blood on your hands' has been doing the rounds on social media this week, thanks to I Fucking Love Science and their vegetarian/vegan baiting. This article is neither new, nor scientifically sound (see footnote), yet it keeps popping
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Download (right-click, Save As) This bonus episode finds Stevie and Luc, as well as Nick and Katie from Progressive Podcast Australia wrapped in blankets, sipping hot mugs of tea and talking about the amazing weekend they had at ICAS. Join them for a broad discussion that covers activism approaches, non-violence, body
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This is a guest post by Naty Guerrero-Diaz. Find out more about Naty and her work below. I am a member of a few networks that self-define as intersectional. We often discuss issues to do with race, feminism, sexuality, gender and class oppressions, and the members appear to recognise the ways in which different forms of oppressions interlink;
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Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) is a non-profit organization that focuses on grassroots vegan education. They have numerous creative campaigns such as the 10 Billion Tour which offers incentives to the public to watch a 4 minute video. FARM's Compassionate Activist Network empowers individuals around the world to hold their own demos, tablings, lectures, screening, marches, silent vigils and more.

An Easter tradition here in the US has been to celebrate life and new beginnings by sitting down to a meal with a honey-baked ham as the centerpiece. Thing is… if most folks took a moment to reflect on the true meaning of this holiday, they might notice that consuming the body of a dead [...]
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2013 went down as the driest year in California's recorded history. A major reservoir outside of Sacramento has been reduced from 83% to 36% capacity in just over 2 years. In the Central Valley, 1,200 square miles of land is sinking at a rate of 11 inches a year from the drilling of groundwater. And [...]
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When the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, people were concerned about air and water pollution and the survival of endangered species. They talked about how the growing human population was crowding out wildlife and how we all have a responsibility to take care of the planet. Now, 44 years later, there are 3.5 [...]
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Animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of global warming and is responsible for more water pollution, topsoil depletion, deforestation, and wildlife destruction than any other human activity, yet the public as well as many environmentalists still consume animal products without making that connection. Together, we need to educate folks that
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A look at veganism and the vegan community from a rationalist perspective. Be prepared for controversial topics and viewpoints. The purpose here is not to offend, but to educate and to challenge conventional (vegan) thinking.

This page has been defunct for quite a while (more than I even realized as I was gallivanting around). As of now, I am only updating through Facebook. You can find that page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rational-Vegan/183398501711863
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Recently I ate out with a large group of coworkers, most of whom I had just met. Unfortunately, the restaurant chosen was one of those big chain sports and burger type places. I scoured the menu and found one item that just might work if it weren't for the cheese splattered on top. Undaunted by the social ramifications, I dared to question
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Vegan cookbook author Claire Gosse and fitness "expert" Brock Picken have a new book called Vegan Flush (press release here). Scare quotes on 'expert' there because what kind of fitness expert doesn't understand how the human body actually flushes out toxins? (Hint for "experts" out there--your liver and kidneys take care of things).
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Yesterday I ran across a link from Animal Legal Defense Fund declaring that Occupy Wall Street Takes on Corporate Animal Abuse. The linked "official declaration" contains this statement: "They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices." Okay, so I'm not sure
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Butterflies Katz is a writer, author, chef, activist, poet, veganic gardener, vegan for 33 years. She's been a pioneer in vegan diets for dogs. Her essays and articles have been regularly published in magazines such as the Vegan Voice.

Divided by country, this special feature shines a spotlight on over 100 vegan-owned~vegan businesses, worldwide. Hopefully this post will inspire more vegan businesses to open thereby making vegan living more accessible to the public. A show of support for this sampling of vegan business owners. (Email: veganpoet@hotmail.com to be added
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STOP it. Please. Stop believing that you have the right to demand the practice of horrifically exploiting other members of the animal kingdom, who are conscious and feeling. They share with us the capacity to suffer, sentience, pain receptors, a brain, a nervous system, faces with eyes, a desire to live. We should be able to empathize. And vegans have
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Two new posters from Jo and me. For those who are concerned about this sort of thing, the approximate representation of the U.S. grade level needed to comprehend the text for Flesch Kincaid is 2.79 (so, just below third-grade reading level). The Flesch Reading ease is 85.64%.
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As an abolitionist, I promote veganism because animal use is unfair. However, one of the common questions about and objections to veganism is whether veganism is nutritionally sound or healthy. It is important to understand the question of health as a vegan generally, as well as it place in the education process. Sensational stories
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As is often the case with my blog, I try to teach other advocates. I try to teach them not only how to be better advocates (which strikes me as kind of a smaller endeavour), but how to be better persons (which is often herculean). But for all those vegans who have, hours afterward, think "I shoulda said!!!" a blog on how to be funny (and
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In no small way, 2011 has been a year that has witnessed a lot of movement in animal advocacy. Francione's work continues to surge in popularity with advocates. Even five years ago, there were not all that many abolitionists. Now there are probably several hundred, perhaps thousands, active worldwide. Active advocacy does not
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